Sunday, 27 June 2010

On behalf of everyone connected with SHAK, I'd just like to thank a few people for wonderful support over the last few days.

This weekend alone, has been a great one for fundraising ( despite some football interupting it) so special thanks to Nicola, Jude and her son, Derek and Sandra for giving up valuable time and effort to support our cause.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has donated food of late, as things were getting pretty low again. So thanks to everyone who puts things in the Pets At Home bin (including the store itself) Jollyes of both West Denton and Blyth, Carlton Bros and our pals at Pawz For Thought.

It would be hard for us to do what we do without your kind support, thank you all.

Saturday, 26 June 2010

Friday, 25 June 2010

A quick reminder that the girls are at Wylam Fair tomorrow with the SHAK Tombola. Should be yet another family fun day out, so why not pop down and say hello. I know a lot of work has gone into preparing for this event, so thanks to Carol, Nicola et all.

Derek will be open for coffee, tea and scones as usual from 7.30am on Sunday. Thanks to your support and all of Derek's hard work, the money raised last week (the best stand alone Sunday yet!) has allowed us to by a new kennel and run, which I am collecting from Scotland next week. Thank you all so much, just shows all your support really does make a difference.

Wednesday, 23 June 2010

I'm pleased to announce that after the success of the recent sponsored walk, the SHAK Winter Walk will take place on Sunday November 7th. We have already been approached about possible sponsorship for the event, so please mark the date in your diary now.

Thanks also to everyone who took part or sponsored someone in the last walk. Money is still rolling in, I promise I will give a final figure soon.

Tuesday, 22 June 2010

Not sure if I'm fully behind this survey, as it doesn't really go into a great deal of detail for example taking into consideration what a breed of dog was actually bred to do. For example, terriers were bred to work and bite whilst Rottweilers were bred to pull carts!

Monday, 21 June 2010

I had a companion on the road to the kennels today, as Isaac came back to us. The old timer was a joy on my back seat, and is only back with us because of a change in his owners circumstances.

We are looking for a foster home as soon as possible, although the new foster procedure is required, so if you are interested please email shak@shak.org.uk or call 07931 702345 and leave a message stating you are interested in Isaac.

Here's some pictures of him enjoying the sun and a tennis ball this afternoon.

Thursday, 17 June 2010

Duke is another SHAK dog that has had a terrible life. He was tormented and abused and was eventually picked up living on a traffic island. He has issues trusting people, and is only beginning to learn how to play with toys. He cheered me up today, but I'm not sure who had the biggest smile, me or him.

Everyone at SHAK is still hurting. Losing Zac was a big shock and one that we will probably never get over. We will always be the family he didn't have, and he will always be a SHAK dog. I for one, miss you "Z Dog."

In saying all that, we still have another 39 dogs at The Rescue Place that need care and attention. Gunnar gave me a great buzz today as we played in the sunshine. You have to remember this dog came to us as a working dog, I'll let you picture what as. It took 4 of us to carry him to his kennel in a cage when he arrived at Easter, he really did not like any of us.

Tuesday, 15 June 2010

SHAK lost one of it's old gents this morning as I arrived at The Rescue Place this morning to find Zac collapsed in his kennel. I tried to get him up, and had to carry him to my jeep to take him to the vets, but he passed away in my arms.

We are not sure the cause, possibly a mass in his stomach or even a twisted stomach, and it was decided that the money it would cost for an autopsy would be put towards saving more lives. Nothing is going to bring Zac back.

Zac arrived with us because nobody else would take him. Despite being a handsome old boy, he wasn't Rotti enough or German Shepherd enough for a breed rescue to take him. I was called 2 hours before the pound he was in were going to take him to the vets to be destroyed. Thanks to Peter (you know who you are) he travelled north to us instead.

Zac had the deepest bark you have ever heard. He was a real old fashioned crossbreed in my eyes. Big, black and tan and just loved the simple things in life. Seeing him half heartily running up the fence barking at another old timer, his kennel neighbour Smokey, is something that will always bring a smile to my face. He was young at heart, just his body didn't quite have the same spirit.

Run free at the bridge Zac, I'm sure you'll be cocking your leg on everything you can. I will miss you, as will all of SHAK, but I know Smokey will miss his sparing partner.

I have to say well done to Gregg for another brilliant idea on giving the dogs a job to do. We try and use everything we can at The Rescue Place with the pop bottle pool etc, but even i was unsure when Gregg took a cardboard box off me on Saturday. He then went on to stuff it full of crumpled newspaper and treats and stuffed kongs, before ripping a hole in one of the corners. Well, you can see the result from the pictures of Bobby above.....

Sunday, 13 June 2010

Well today was a great day, so thank you to everyone who supported both the dog walk and Morpeth Fair. A massive THANK YOU to Carol and Nicola for standing in the rain at Morpeth on the famous SHAK Tombola. I popped along after the dog walk, and it was a brilliant event, so thanks to everyone else who braved the weather to see the girls.

The dog walk this morning was also a brilliant event. Thank you to everyone who turned up in what was really heavy drizzle at 11 o'clock. It was brilliant to see so many dogs of all ages and sizes and breeds walking side by side. Including the little lady pictured above, who struggled but managed to do the entire walk even at the grand old age of 14. Of course, a huge thank you to Derek and Sandra, who without this would of never happened. Derek puts so much work in during the week to get everything ready for a Sunday, and he was rushed of his feet when 30 or so dog walkers all turned up at once. Thanks Long John, we are so honoured to have you as part of the SHAK Team.

We are already planning the SHAK Winter Walk, and also maybes a SHAK Fun Walk on New Years Day (No sponsorship just a get to together and a coffee at Derek's) so please keep an eye out for future dates.

Thanks to Adelene and her Rhiannon for bring George and Daisy on the walk too. It was great for them to get away from the kennels for the day, and as you can see they made loads of new friends. Here's Daisy meeting my very own Sky.

These two had a great walk back to the car along the beach, and George found a ball as a souvenir. Thanks Adelene and Rhiannon.

Saturday, 12 June 2010

Just a reminder that it is this Sunday (13th) 11am meet at the car park at the promenade at Blyth. Don't worry if its too late to get sponsors, as people can take part by giving a donation on the day. There could be a special appearance from a couple of the SHAK dogs, as well as a chance to chat about the work we do.

There is also the Morpeth Fair on Sunday, and I know the girls would love to see you there. It promises to be a fun day out for the whole family, and SHAK is proud to be part of it.

Friday, 11 June 2010

Another week sees a little bit more progress with project "Socialise Doyle." The big guy now goes into the runs next to Butch and Kane, and is very happy playing football with them with the fence in between. Next step has to be letting them play together.....

Faith has also made a little progress this week, as she ventured out in the jeep with me when we went on an errand. She is still very scared of the outside world, but letting her see it from the safety of the car seemed to make her feel a little bit more comfortable with it all.

Sunday of course is a massive day of fundraising for us, as we have the dog walk at Seaton Sluice (followed by coffee at Derek's so bring your purse) whilst the girls take their Tombola on the road again to Morpeth Fair. This event should be a brilliant family day out, so why not do the walk in the morning, grab a cuppa at Derek's and then head up to Morpeth ha ha.

On a more sombre note, we had another new arrival this week that had been waiting a while to get a kennel space. More details after full assessment, but he appears to be a nice old boy.

I'll leave you with a picture of Bobby enjoying a rare piece of sunshine this week.

There is now an easy way to help us raise funds from the comfort of your own home. Easyfundraising a great website where you can raise funds for SHAK simply by shopping and searching online.

You can shop online with 2000+ well known retailers at www.easyfundraising.org.uk, including Argos, Boden, Amazon, John Lewis, Boots, Vodafone, M&S, Play.com, Debenhams, eBay and many more. Just use the links provided on the easyfundraising site whenever you make a purchase and up to 15% of the price will be donated to SHAK- at no additional cost to you!

easyfundraising also features www.easysearch.org.uk, a search engine with a difference. Search the Web with easysearch instead of Google or any other search engine and you'll raise funds for your chosen cause with every search you make. Make just 10 searches a day and you could raise around £20 a year - just by searching the Web. easysearch is powered by Yahoo!, Ask.com, Bing and several other well-known search engines.

Plus, if you sign up before 30th June 2010, they will enter you into their FREE PRIZE DRAW to win a 32in LED Samsung HD TV complete with Freeview worth £800 from Viking.

easyfundraising and easysearch are both completely FREE to use and if you select SHAK - Safe Homes And Kindness when you register as the cause you wish to support, you'll help us raise much needed funds.

Just follow the link below, and help us save even more "Dogs On Death Row."

Due to a change in his owners circumstances, I'm sorry to have to say we are looking for a new foster home for Isaac. Having been in a home for about 16 months, we are trying to get him into a home rather than back in kennels. Usual terms of foster apply, but if you are interested in giving this old guy a new start please email shak@shak.org.uk or call 07931 702345 and leave a message stating clearly that you are interested in Isaac.

Isaac has been waiting for a while to come back to us, as we have struggled for kennel space, but we now have about ten days until he will have to come to The Rescue Place. Can you help?

Monday, 7 June 2010

Well, I'm actually proud of every single one of them, but over the last few days 4 in particulair have excelled and jogged my memory as to why I put myself through hell on a daily basis.

First up, CONGRATULATIONS to Tess and her brilliant family on Tess's achievement of the Bronze Kennel Club Good Citizen Award! One of the terms of her foster is that she was to attend one of our approved training classes, she has been, and now has this award. We at SHAK are so proud of her going from a dog no one wanted to being "a good citizen" and also very proud of her family for working so much with her.

I mentioned last week that Doyle had made massive progress in making friends after never seeing another dog other than Bodie. Well, today he and Butch ventured out on a short walk together, and I have to say it was beautiful seeing them both together. Doyle was a little curious, but also quite shy, Butch on the other hand is such a sociable guy that he just got on with his walk. The most interesting thing though was watching them trying to play football with each other with a fence inbetween when they got back to the runs.

With the weather improving (although you wouldn't think so today) today was time for Bodie to lose his dreadlocks. It took two of us, but between Ameri and I we managed the first steps towards stripping this big handsome guy of tats that he has probably had for most of his 8 years. Bodie was a perfect gent, and let us snip away. Both him and Doyle are such a pleasure to be around, and today both proved what stars they actually are.

Friday, 4 June 2010

I love the latest addition to the wide range of drinks at Pebbles at Seaton Sluice..... the SHAK Cappuccino! Derek puts a lot of work into making sure he serves only the best products, but has excelled himself by spending the week making the SHAK chocolate template.

He is open from 7.30 as usual on Sunday, so why not try a SHAK Cappuccino and see how yummy they are. Just look for the black flags on the sea front at Seaton Sluice.

Also it is the last chance to pick up a sponsorship form for the Dog Walk in aid of SHAK a week on Sunday (13th June.)

Who We Are.....

Stephen Wylie and one of the SHAK dogs Donnie.

And What We Do.....

Celebrating its 10th anniversary on June 19th 2016, SHAK has come a long way since its founder Stephen Wylie uttered those fateful words ‘never again...’ after the shock death of his dog and best friend Shak.

The hundreds of dogs whose lives have been changed because of that loss is testament to a dog that had a lasting imprint on everyone he met.....

Today the registered charity has approximately 70 dogs inits care, offering sanctuary to the ones that really need it or a place to simply become a dog again for others.

Working only with destruction cases from vets, strays anddogs from our trusted charity partners, SHAK does not take in dogs from members of the public. Likewise we are not a rehoming centre, although we do offer the opportunity for people to apply for our Forever Foster project.

We concentrate all of our time, energy and resources directly into the well being of our dogs, enriching lives that others had written off.....

Keep Calm

Ways You Can Donate.....

Donate By Text.....

We are delighted to announce our new partnership with Vodafone, and provide a simple and effective way of you to help us "Save Even More Dogs On Death Row."
Simply text SHAK01 £10 to 70070 to donate to Shak (Safe Homes And Kindness) and make a difference today. You can donate any amount upto £10 by simply changing the amount in the text, and the best thing is we get EVERY penny.
Thanks in advance for your support.

"It's A Dogs Life....."

A Blog page to show all the work that goes on behind the scenes at SHAK.

A brief insight into how our dogs get here, and what they do when they get here…..

(Please note, all opinions and views on here are exactly that, OUR opinions and views ony.)